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Valuation as a Social Process

Charles Horton Cooley

The Psychological Bulletin, Vol. IX. N 12. Dece!er 1", 1#12.

In a large $ie% o& the atter $aluation is nothing less than the selecti$e 'rocess in the ental(socialli&e o& an) all $alues are in soe sense sur$i$al $alues an* ha$e a !earing on the on%ar*ten*ency o& things. They in*icate signi&icance %ith re&erence to soe sort o& a crisis, an* are &actorsin gui*ing the !eha$ior o& soe sort o& organis. The i*ea ight easily !e e+ten*e* to lo%er &orso& li&e an* a*e to e!race all the 'sychical as'ects o& selection %e shall !e content, ho%e$er, toconsi*er soe o& its huan a''lications.

The anner in %hich a certain o!-ect *e$elo's $alue &or a an in a 'articular situation is a atter o&the coonest e+'erience) at e$ery instant %e are 'assing &ro one situation to another an* theo!-ects a!out us are taing on ne% $alues accor*ingly. I& I %ish to *ri$e a nail I loo at e$erything%ithin reach %ith re&erence to its haer($alue, an* i& the oney(%rench has ore o& this thanany other o!-ect a$aila!le I reach &or it, its &unction increases, it sur$i$es, it is the &it, is a gro%ing&actor in li&e. /n* en, nations, *octrines, %hat you %ill, %a+ an* %ane !y analogous acts o&selection.

The essential things in the conce'tion o& $alue are, then, a huan organis 0not necessarily a'erson a situation an* an o!-ect the last ha$ing 'ro'erties that ha$e an in&luence on the !eha$ioro& the organis in $ie% o& the situation. The organis is, o& course, the heart o& the %hole atter.e are intereste* 'riarily in that !ecause it is a syste o& li&e, an* in $alues !ecause they oul*its gro%th. The $arious $alues acting on the organis are e$er !eing integrate* !y the latter 0as !y aan %hen he 3aes u' his in*3 an* the situation is et !y an act o& selection, %hich is a ste' ingro%th, lea*ing on to ne% situations an* $alues.

Valuation inclu*es the history that lies !ac o& $alues, that antece*ent 'rocess o& gro%th an*struggle !y %hich any o!-ect o& thought or sentient coes to ha$e ore or less 'o%er o$er choice

an* action. I&, &or e+a'le, *iaon*s, the 'aintings o& Corot, the *ogas o& Christian Science, thei*ea o& !rotherhoo*, the attainent o& the SouthPole, the ser$ices o& a 'hysician, ha$e 'o%er, in$arious %ays an* *egrees, o$er huan !eha$ior, it is !ecause there has !een a 're$ious entalan* social 'rocess out o& %hich these o!-ects ha$e eerge* %ith a certain %eight &or certain entalsituations.

The organis %hich the i*ea o& $alue i'lies, the li&e %hich is the heart o& the 'rocess, a!out %hich$alues center ay !e 'ersonal or it ay !e i'ersonal) a *octrine, an institution, a o$eent, anything %hich li$es an* gro%s, gi$es rise to a s'ecial syste o& $alues ha$ing re&erence to that gro%th,an* these $alues are real 'o%ers in li&e %hether 'ersons are a%are o& or intereste* in the or notthe gro%th o& language, &or e+a'le, o& yth, o& &ors o& art, %ors on to i'ortant issues %ith littleor no conscious 'artici'ation on our 'art. In general there are as any centers o& $alue as there are'hases o& li&e.

The $arious classi&ications o& $alue are !ase* in one %ay or another on that o& the o!-ects,organiss or situations %hich the general i*ea o& $alue in$ol$es. Thus, taing the 'oint o& $ie% o&the o!-ect, %e s'ea o& grain($alues, stoc($alues, the $alues o& !oos, o& 'ictures, o& *octrines, o&en. 4$i*ently, ho%e$er, these are in*eterinate unless %e !ring in the organis an* the situationto *e&ine the. / !oo has $arious in*s o& $alue, as literary an* 'ecuniary, an* these again ay!e *i&&erent &or *i&&erent 'ersons or grou's.

/s regar*s the &ors o& huan li&e to %hich $alues are to !e re&erre*, it sees to e o& 'riaryi'ortance to ae a *istinction %hich I %ill call that !et%een huan(nature $alues an* institutional$alues.

The &irst are those %hich ay !e trace* %ithout great *i&&iculty to 'hases o& uni$ersal huan nature.The organis &or %hich they ha$e %eight is si'ly an in those co'arati$ely 'eranent as'ects

%hich %e are accustoe* to s'ea o& as huan nature, an* to contrast %ith the shi&ting institutionsthat are !uilt u'on it. The o!-ects 'ossessing such $alues *i&&er greatly &ro age to age, !ut thetests %hich are a''lie* to the are &un*aentally uch the sae, !ecause the organis &ro%hich they s'ring is uch the sae. / !right color, a haronious soun*, ha$e a $alue &or all en,

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an* %e ay recon all the ore uni$ersal &ors o& !eauty, those %hich en o& any age an* cultureay a''reciate through erely !ecoing &ailiar %ith the, as huan(nature $alues. Such $aluesare as $arious as huan nature itsel& an* ay !e *i&&erentiate* an* classi&ie* in a hun*re* %ays.There are soe in %hich 'articular senses are the cons'icuous &actors, as au*itory an* gustatory$alues. 5thers s'ring &ro the social sentients, lie the $alues o& social sel&(&eeling %hich un*erliecon&ority, an* the $alues o& lo$e, &ear, a!ition, honor an* loyalty. Closely relate* to these are theore uni$ersal religious an* oral $alues, %hich, ho%e$er, are usually entangle* %ith institutional

$alues o& a ore transient an* s'ecial character. The sae ay !e sai* o& scienti&ic, 'hiloso'hicalan* ethical $alues, an* great achie$eent in any o& these &iel*s *e'en*s ainly on the creation o&$alues %hich are such &or huan nature, an* not erely &or soe transient institutional 'oint o&$ie%.

The secon* sort o& $alues are those %hich ust !e ascri!e* to an institutional syste o& soe sort.Huan nature enters into the !ut is so trans&ore* in its o'eration !y the syste that %e regar*the latter as their source, an* are -usti&ie* in *oing so !y the &act that social organiss ha$e agro%th an* $alues that cannot, 'ractically, !e e+'laine* &ro the stan*'oint o& general huannature. The. *istinction is o!$ious enough i& %e tae a clear instance o& it, lie the *istinction!et%een religious an* ecclesiastical $alues. Such general traits o& religious 'sychology as aretreate* in illia 6aes7s Varieties o& 8eligious 4+'erience, corres'on* to $alues that %e ay call$alues o& huan nature the $alues esta!lishe* in the 8oan Catholic Church are a $ery *i&&erent

atter, though huan nature certainly enters into the. In the sae %ay there are s'ecial $alues&or e$ery sort o& institutional *e$elo'entlegal $alues,, 'olitical. $alues, ilitary $alues, uni$ersity$alues, an* so on. /ll technical. $alues coe un*er this hea*. Thus in e$ery art there are not onlyhuan(nature $alues in the sha'e o& 'hases o& !eauty o'en to en at large, !ut technical $alues,s'ringing &ro the s'ecial history an* etho*s o& the art, %hich only the e+'ert can a''reciate..

Pecuniary $alues shoul*, I thin, !e recone* in this secon* class, &or reasons %hich I shall notatte't to gi$e at 'resent.

This *istinction, as I ha$e reare*, rests u'on the &act that there are &ors o& social li&e ha$ing a*istinct organic gro%th, in$ol$ing *istinct nee*s an* $alues, %hich cannot !e un*erstoo* !y *irect.re&erence to uni$ersal huan nature an* the con*itions that ie*iately in&luence it. I a a%arethat it ay !e *i&&icult to a''ly to 'articular cases. It rese!les ost 'sychological *istinctions ino&&ering no shar' *i$i*ing line, !eing si'ly a 9uestion o& the aount an* *e&initeness o& socialtra*ition an* structure in$ol$e*. /ll huan $alues are ore or less e*iate* !y transient socialcon*itions) they ight, 'erha's, !e arrange* in a scale as to the *egree in %hich they are soe*iate* soe, lie the taste &or salt, co'arati$ely little, others, lie the taste &or 'oetry, a great*eal. In *ealing %ith the latter in* %e coe to a 'oint on the scale %here the social antece*entstae on such *e&inite &or an* *e$elo'ent as to constitute a *istinct organis %hich ust !estu*ie* as such !e&ore %e can un*erstan* the $alue situation. In oral $alues, &or e+a'le, thereare soe, lie those o& loyalty, in*ness an* courage, %hich s'ring 9uite *irectly &ro uni$ersalcon*itions an* ay !e regar*e* as huan(nature $alues others, lie the o!ligation to go to churchon Sun*ay, are e$i*ently institutional. I nee* har*ly a** that huan an* institutional $alues o&tencon&lict, or that re&or consists largely in rea*-usting the to each other. Nor nee* I *iscuss in *etailthe &ailiar 'rocess !y %hich huan(nature $alues, seeing reali:ation through a co'le+ socialsyste, are le* to tae on organi:ation an* an institutional character %hich carries the &ar a%ay

&ro huan(nature an* in tie calls &or a reassertion o& the latter or -ust ho% this reassertion taes'lace on the initiati$e o& in*i$i*uals an* sall grou's. /ny one ay see such cycles in the history o&the Christian church, or o& any other institution he ay 're&er to stu*y.

It is note%orthy, also, that there are %or*s that ay !e un*erstoo* in either a huan(nature or aninstitutional sense, an* so are a!iguous %ith re&erence to this *istinction. ;or e+a'le e*ucational$alue ight !e a real huan $alue, or it ight re&er to tests o& a s'ecial an* technical sort, an*3religious3 o&ten eans ecclesiastical.

The $arious huan(nature an* institutional $alues o& a gi$en o!-ect *i&&er aong thesel$es as the'hases o& the huan in* itsel& *i&&er) that is, ho%e$er are* the *i&&erences, the $alues are a&terall e+'ressions o& a coon organic li&e. There is no clean(cut se'aration aong the an* at tiesthey erge in*istinguisha!ly one into another. /n organic ental(social li&e has &or one o& its'hases an organic syste o& $alues. ;or e+a'le the aesthetic an* oral $alues ay see 9uiteunconnecte*, as in the case o& a an %ith a 3&air outsi*e3 !ut a !a* character, an* yet %e &eel thatthere is soething !eauti&ul a!out 'er&ect goo*ness an* soething goo* a!out 'er&ect !eauty. It isagree*, I !elie$e, that the !est literature an* art are oral, not, 'erha's, !y intention, !ut !ecause

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the t%o in*s o& $alue are relate* an* ten* to coinci*e in their co'leteness. /longsi*e o& these %eay 'ut truth($alue, an* say o& the three that they are 'hases o& the highest &or o& huan-u*gent %hich o&ten !ecoe in*istinguisha!le.

The institutional $alues are also 'arts o& the sae ental(social syste, *istinguishe* !y their*eri$ation &ro a s'ecial social organis. They erge into the huan(nature $alues, as I ha$esuggeste*, an* unless the t%o are in o''osition it ay !e har* to *istinguish !et%een the. /ninstitution, ho%e$er, sel*o or ne$er corres'on*s so closely to a 'hase o& huan nature that the

institutional $alues an* the ie*iately huan $alues on the %hole coinci*e. /n i*ea, in !ecoinginstitutional, erges itsel& %ith the %hole tra*itional structure o& society, taing the 'ast u'on itsshoul*ers, an* loses uch o& the !rea*th an* s'ontaneity o& our ore ie*iate li&e. There are noinstitutions that e+'ress a*e9uately the inner nee* &or !eauty, truth, righteousness an* religion ashuan nature re9uires the at a gi$en tie) no church, &or e+a'le, e$er %as or can !e %hollychristian.

It is a''arent that the sae o!-ect ay ha$e any in*s o& $alue, 'erha's all o& those that I ha$eentione*. It is concei$a!le that an ay turn all 'hases o& his li&e to%ar*s any o!-ect an*a''raise it *i&&erently &or each 'hase. Consi*er, &or instance, an anial lie the o+, o& ieorialinterest to the huan race. It ay !e regar*e* as !eauti&ul or ugly, ay arouse the $ariouseotions, as lo$e, &ear or anger, ay gi$e rise to oral an* 'hiloso'hical 9uestions, ay !e theo!-ect o& religious &eeling, as in In*ia, an* ha$e a $alue &or the senses o& sight, hearing, touch, sell

an* taste. It has also, es'ecially aong the 'astoral 'eo'les, nota!le institutional $alues 'lays alarge 'art in la%, cereony an* %orshi', an*, in our o%n tra*ition, has an e'onyous relation to'ecuniary institutions.

Since $alues are a 'hase o& the 'u!lic in*, o& the sae general nature as 'u!lic o'inion they $aryas that *oes %ith the tie, the grou' an* the s'ecial situation. 4$ery nation or e'och has its ore orless 'eculiar $alue syste, a*e u' o& relate* 'arts) any one can see that the $alues o& the schools,7 o&churches an* other social organi:ations, as %ell as the *aily li$es o& e$ery an an* %oani'elling

the in 'aths %hich no in*i$i*ual an &oresa% or 'ur'ose*.302Nor is there anything ysterious

a!otit this) it is si'ly one as'ect o& the &act that the acti$ities, e$en the e+istence, o& the &ors o&social li&e are not necessarily or usually o!-ects o& consciousness to those in$ol$e* in the. 4$eryone ust see that this is true as regar*s the 'ast, an* there is no reason to su''ose that the'resent is *i&&erent. ithout *ou!t %e are taing 'art in institutional o$eents o& %hich %e no%

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nothing, an* %hich reain &or the &uture historian or sociologists to *isco$er, -ust as the organicgro%th o& language, o& yth an* the lie, %hich %ent on in the in*s o& our reote 're*ecessors,has !een !rought to light !y the 'hilologists an* ethnologists o& our o%n *ay.

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5& course this large $ie% o& the 'rocess, %hich I call 'u!lic $aluation, shoul* !y no eans !econ&use* %ith institutional $aluation. The latter is that 'art o& the 'rocess %hose e+'lanation ust !esought in those s'ecial ten*encies o& institutional li&e %hich o&ten *e'art so %i*ely &ro the si'ler%orings o& huan nature. Institutional $aluation has its 'u!lic an* in*i$i*ual as'ects lie any othersocial 'henoenon. The goo* churchan, in e+'ressing the $ie%s o& the church, ay !ee+'ressing hisel& as truly as he *oes the institution !ut it ay !e that his sel& is so institutioni:e*as not to e+'ress huan nature.

It is not uncoon, ho%e$er, to thin o& 'u!lic $alue, or, as it is usually calle*, social $alue, 0asthat %hich is &i+e* !y soe institution, or other &oral 'rocess. There is soething in this le&t o$er&ro those echanical theories o& society that coul* not see any unity in huan li&e e+ce't this unitytoo a echanical &ora contract, a cree*, a go$ernent, or the lie. The 'u!lic or social ust,then, !e the institutional, the con$entional, an* this %as set o$er against the in*i$i*ual, %ho %asthought o& as !ecoing social only !y soe such co!ination. I trust that I nee* not linger to re&utethis out%orn i*ea.

The institutions, %e ay note in this connection, usually ha$e rather *e&inite an* 'recise etho*s&or the a''raisal o& $alues in accor*ance %ith their o%n organic nee*s. In the state, &or e+a'le, %eha$e ancient institutions o& choice, %hich inclu*e ela!orate etho*s o& electing or a''ointing'ersons, as %ell as legislati$e, -u*icial an* scienti&ic authorities &or 'assing u'on i*eas. The churchhas its tests o& e!ershi', its cree*s, scri'tures, sacraents, 'enances, hierarchy o& saints an**ignitaries, an* the lie, all o& %hich ser$e as stan*ar*s o& $alue. The ary has an analogoussyste. 5n the institutional si*e o& art %e ha$e e+hi!itions %ith e*als, 'ri:e co'etitions, electionto aca*eies an* the $er*ict o& traine* critics) in science uch the sae, %ith ore e'hasis ontitles an* aca*eic chairs. =ou %ill &in* soething o& the sae sort in e$ery %ell organi:e*tra*itional structure. e ha$e it in the uni$ersities, not only in the o&&icial %oring o& the institution,!ut in the &raternities, athletic associations an* the lie.

It is also note%orthy that institutional $aluation is nearly al%ays the &unction o& a s'ecial class. Thisis o!$iously the case %ith the institutions entione*, an* it is e9ually true, though 'erha's lesso!$iously, %ith 'ecuniary $aluation.

The a''lication o& these 'rinci'les to the latter I ho'e to tae u' u'on another occasion. 0

1. The huan(nature $alues, o& course, $ary uch less than the institutional $alues. Thus &ashions$ary in&initely, !ut con&ority, the huan nature !asis o& allegiance to &ashion, reains uch thesae.

2. B.